New driveway installation

[Dan 177]

This spring I've committed to getting a new driveway. Currently it is comprised of small rivers stones (as when we moved in 3 years ago). I had a Belgium block curb, and re leveling/addition of stones done when we first moved it. It is rather large, U shaped with an offshoot to the garage. Nope I don't live in a mansion or anything, just the previous owner decided he wanted a driveway larger than the house.

 

So I'm thinking your run of the mill blacktop, but I'm starting to investigate other options. Stamped and colored concrete is an option that someone told me about. Does anyone have experience with it, and if so what would be the price difference over blacktop. Pavers are out of the question as I know the $$ for those things is astronomical.

 

Also, If any forum members are in the biz , feel free to PM me and I'll add you to my quote list.

 

Thanks!

[djg0770 481]

Blacktop is the cheapest, period.

[tommy3rd 132]

Whatever the price quote you get for black top, at least double that price for concrete.

[Dan 177]

Double the price over blacktop for concrete ehe? OK well that rules out concrete. Blacktop here I come!

[bry@n 195]

Double the price over blacktop for concrete ehe? OK well that rules out concrete. Blacktop here I come!

 

Look around and get ref's. I had a local guy do my driveway and it looks like crap. What a gypsy.

[mipafox 438]

Can't help you, not good at these things. But I wish I had money for all these home projects people are doing. I spent all my money on guns! I probably won't recover until next year.

[Dan 177]

Good advice on getting references, will do for sure. I don't want to pay big bucks for a scamtop!

 

Trust me, I'd rather be spending money on more guns and gun related accessories! I'm just tired of my snowblower sucking up rocks, scratching up the blades, and chucking them at light speed across the lawn. I should chrono those suckers. I then have to rake up the damn rocks off the lawn in the spring, which is always a fun and nearly impossible job.

[gunnyr 17]

I bought a house two years ago from an elder couple that was moving south to retire. The gentleman worked for my township and he had the driveway expanded into a 4 car driveway but used blacktop. I asked him about that and he told me that our township doesn't increase property taxes if you expand the driveway and use blacktop.

 

Just something else to consider.

[halbautomatisch 60]

When looking for a contractor for paving the questions you need to ask (aside from the requisite: are they reliable, honest, insured and registered as a home improvement contractor in NJ) are about how they are going to install your new driveway. Like any construction project, the base is everything. Most asphalt guys seem to want to level out what's there already, maybe add a minimal amount of base material and pave over it with a couple inches of asphalt. A driveway constructed this way will usually start to crack in 3-5 years (unless you have really good soils) and will need to be replaced after about 10 years.

 

If you want it to last, the more quarry process/road stone (or if your in south jersey "modified") the better. I don't do asphalt paving but install paver driveways. We usually put 10" of QP under them as well as a Geotextile underlayment. The reason a driveway starts to rut, and with asphalt crack, is the base cannot hold the weight when the soil (usually clay) gets saturated. The worst time for this is during spring thaw. More base = longer lasting driveway (regardless of what surface you put on it).

 

Forget stamped concrete, I have sold many paver driveways to people who looked into it and realized the cost was about the same. Pavers, when installed properly will last 30-40 years, stamped concrete will flake off in 5-10 years.

[halbautomatisch 60]

I bought a house two years ago from an elder couple that was moving south to retire. The gentleman worked for my township and he had the driveway expanded into a 4 car driveway but used blacktop. I asked him about that and he told me that our township doesn't increase property taxes if you expand the driveway and use blacktop.

 

Just something else to consider.

Most towns will make you get a zoning permit (to ensure your not over your impervious coverage %)if you want to expand your driveway regardless of what you surface it with.

[Dan 177]

Thanks for the advice all.

 

Definitely not expanding, plenty of room now, and I had the belgium block cubs installed a few years ago, don't want to demo them either.

 

I'll definately look into the base thing. My neighbor is a landscaper that does pavers, and he also told me about how he is anal about putting down the right base when doing the pavers. Makes sense the same concept would apply with asphalt. I read up about it and it looks like 6-8" of crushed gravel is the sweet spot I should be looking for. That will be a good test question to ask the contractor.

[Tom-NJ2AS 31]

I agree with the quality of the work with the asphalt. When done right, it is up there with concrete as far as i m concerned. You can have 4" stone and 4" concrete bought for around 6-8 bucks a square foot. Price out the paving (square yards) with say just 4"stone 3" base and 2" top course and it may even be more money i would think.

[siderman 1,138]

Considering you've got some stone down already top it with a minimum of 4" QP,a mix of stone dust and gravel and pack it down then a few inches of blacktop. Pavers and concrete are a lot more $. Also keep in mind that oil,grease and gas will stain the pavers and concrete.Feels almost as bad as getting the first dent in your new car after paying so much for the hi-end driveway.Also consider installing any drainage issues before paving such as pipes from guters, drainage grates etc.

[rifleman 90]

Don't pay until you flood it with water and it drains correctly.

[Daedalus 19]

Checking the drainage is huge!

 

My neighbors and I (shared driveway) went from stone to blacktop a few years ago. The contractor dug deep, put in a good base and everything was OK until the first big rain. The neighbors driveway is higher than ours. Not only did the water all drain onto my pad in front of the garage area but it all puddled there. Not fun when the ice hits!

 

Don't let them snow you about "minor birdbaths". I'm stuck with mine AND he had many local references.

 

Good luck!

[Bob La 1]

Your taxes will change based on what you put down, with asphalt paving changing them the least.

Remember those old houses with the concrete runners?

Think about what might use your driveway for when considering top and base depth, one truck can smash a thin driveway, the base is the most important factor.

Everybody's hungry now, very little residential development so you might get some good labor pricing, asphalt goes with the price of oil, up.

[NJ-Tom 4]

How about decorative asphalt. Here is the website My link

[Dan 177]

Great advice on the drainage part. I should know this. I used to be the president of a townhouse community, and had to deal with many driveway drainage issues, not fun.

 

I am concerned with using the existing riverstone as part of the base. It's simply dirt below the rocks in most areas. I do have some crushed stone in areas I had built up when we moved in. My big concern is they would have to sink it down. If you add 4" base to the stone, plus 2" of asphalt, that will place the driveway mid-height of the Belgium block curb above ground-level. I'm all for them in pulling up the stones, placing them aside, digging out the dirt to the proper depth, then re-using the riverstone with crushed gravel/stonedust, etc. I'll check to see if that is what they would do.

 

Things I'm going to be assertive on:

a- Type of base and thickness (stonedust/QP/gravel) minimum 6"

b- Drainage plan

c- References

d- No full payment until I can test drainage

 

I shouldn't have to mess with the township and taxes, since I'm not expanding or putting down a new driveway, just re-surfacing.

 

I'm intrigued with the textured and colored asphalt options from that company. I'm going to give them a ring to see if they have any NJ based firms that perform the service, and to check on costs. If it is reasonable , may be a good options at something other than the smooth black of regular asphalt.